Langford says he was recently denied a request for compassionate early release from federal prison. Langford has not said publicly what his illness is.

"I'm dying and just was refused a compassionate release after the prison here, the probation in Birmingham and the warden all approved my being allowed to go home to die," Langford said.

The preliminary approvals for release were rejected by "the powers that be in D.C. claiming that I'm still able to walk on my own," Langford said of the Justice Department.

The former Birmingham mayor, who also was Jefferson County commissioner and mayor of Fairfield, is serving a 15-year sentence on corruption convictions from his time on the commission. He is at a federal prison medical center in Lexington, Ky., and is scheduled for release on May 1, 2023.

"The compassionate release approved by the prison officials here is to allow me and other prisoners in my position to spend a little quality time with their families before going to meet their maker," Langford said.

The compassionate release is likely the last resort for release for Langford following a U.S. Supreme Court denial in January 2012 to review his appeal on public corruption charges. That rejection exhausted his direct appeals.

In an April report, the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General found that the federal prisons' compassionate release program "has been poorly managed and implemented inconsistently, likely resulting in eligible inmates not being considered for release and in terminally ill inmates dying before their requests were decided."

Langford, who has been in prison since 2010 still maintains that he was unfairly convicted, says the polygraph test he was given prior to trial and passed proves he didn't take or solicit a bribe but that the results are sealed via a gag order from the federal judge in his case.

"(The judge) will say a polygraph is not admissible in court. I never tried to get it admitted into court. If I had failed the polygraph, I bet the U.S. attorney would have leaked it," Langford said.

Langford was convicted in October 2009 of taking an estimated $235,000 in bribes from an investment banker while on the Jefferson County Commission in return for millions in bond work.

He detailed frustration at both his legal predicament as well as his political legacy in Birmingham.

Several major projects and concepts including the Crossplex, Railroad Park, Birmingham zoo expansion, city incentives for the new Trinity Hospital on U.S. 280 in addition to the hotel and entertainment district at the BJCC were either proposed or had begun during Langford's term as mayor of Birmingham.

"This whole thing, my being in prison, found guilty by a jury that said it had made up its mind before hearing any testimony and sitting here watching elected officials take credit for my work just adds insult to injury," he said.

Still, Langford expressed great appreciation for his wife, Melva, describing her as his bedrock partner and supporter.

"From the time we were married, and since being in here, that woman has given me all the reason in the world to keep struggling to stay alive," he said. "Melva, I love you."